New Member IntroductionsA great place to introduce yourself as a new member of the board, get to know folks, and let us know you're planning to stick around. Tell us how you found us, why you're here, what type of writing you like, and anything else you think we should know to get to know 'You'. Welcome aboard!

Share Your Writing Success Stories HereHere you can post your writing success story: Did you get a columnist assignment? Hired for a big job? Sold a high-paying article? Received an offer on a book deal? Did you get a particularly successful rejection? Whatever your idea of writing success is, This is the section where you can brag and share.

General Writing DiscussionDiscussion of writing separated by popular writing genres, to make it easier to discuss and find only the type of writing style and genre in which you're interested. Just hover your mouse over the genre in blue below, and it will underline the genre and then click to go to the sub-forum. Enjoy.

Online Article & Content Writing DiscussionsOnline writing, with titles and keyword density that differs from print publication, is a newer genre of writing that takes a bit of adjustment for seasoned writers. Simply forget everything they taught you in English in high school, and step into one of our sub-forum for online content and article writing discussions to learn how it's done.

Article & Nonfiction Paying Writing LeadsVerified paying freelance writing leads, print and online magazine writing gigs, anthology submissions, or other verified paying writing jobs and/or assignments or publishers/markets accepting open submissions, pitches or queries. NO CRAIGSLIST JOBS! You will never find a headhunter, fee-charging employer here. If there is an issue with any job, let Michy know, and she will investigate and remove the posting as necessary. (Jobs that are no longer available will be archived - if it's listed, it should still be open.)

Writing ResourcesIf you have a link for a resource that is helpful for writers and it doesn't fit in any other category, you can put it here with an explanation of what the link is about and why it benefits writers.

Non-Paying Writing LeadsSome writers decide they don't care as much about payment as they do about gaining a following and readership, so they don't mind submitting their writing to websites, publications and publishers that don't pay. If you are interested in submitting to non-paying markets, we're offering some legitimate non-paying leads for writing, both fiction and nonfiction, in this category. If you don't want to submit to a nonpaying market, simply ignore this forum, but allow it for those who choose otherwise.

Free-Entry Writing ContestsFind free-entry writing contests that give cash prizes. While these writing contests have been verified as legitimate and paying contests, please use discretion when entering any contest, and always read the guidelines, the fine print, and legal stuff to protect yourself and your copyright.

Entry Fee Required Writing ContestsWhile we've verified these contests are paying cash prizes, we make no judgment about the cost of the entry fee versus the prize award amount. Only you can decide if the cost is worth the payout, and if the prize is worth the investment of the fee. High-dollar fees should have very high-dollar prizes and/or should be prestigious enough to advance your career (think Pulitzer/National Book Award, etc.) Always make sure you're bringing in more than you're spending. Writing and winning writing contests shouldn't have worse odds than Vegas slot machines!

Free-Entry Poetry ContestsPoetry contests should actually have losers. No, really! Avoid poetry contests where the only publication is in a book you have to buy to see your poetry in print. Here, we offer contests that bring cash prizes and publication--and free copies of that publication too.

Entry Fee Required Poetry ContestsTo enter or not to enter? that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler to spend 20 bucks on a poetry contest that pays $25 for winning or never entering at all is really your choice. We simply offer a small selection of entry fee required poetry contest leads when we find them.

Writing Grants, Residency & AwardsWhile we do our best to verify all writing grants & contests are legitimate, please enter and submit at your own risk and do your homework before sending your work or personal information. Residencies usually require travel and an extended stay, so don't apply unless you can do that. Grants usually require certain activities be met, so read the guidelines carefully. Awards are contests without cash prizes, but with prestigious awards of 'value', either through training, education, experience, or monetary.

Writing Help, Spelling, Grammar & Eidting Editing QuestionsPost your editing, writing, grammar and punctuation questions here. From self editing, grammar reminders to understanding a publisher's submission guidelines--any question you may have for an editor or publisher about the process of writing and submissions and queries, someone here just might have the answer.

Submission, Proposal & Query QuestionsReady to polish your proposal or gussy up your query and start submitting your manuscripts? Looking to query a magazine or a literary agent? This is the forum to discuss queries, proposals and submissions. Ask questions! Better to not know here and learn than to look like you don't know to a publisher or agent! Feel free to ask anything that you want to know directly from the insiders at traditional publishing houses, POD, and literary agents and representatives and we'll try to find the answers straight from someone in the know too.

Writing PromptsWhen you're stumped, stuck, having trouble with writer's block, need motivation, or just want something to spark the writing bug, Here you'll find daily writing prompts to get the fingers moving! Better yet, you can share your own prompts to help get others moving their fingers too!

Writing ChallengesWhether it's a personal challenge, a friendly challenge against fellow writers to spur everyone on, or one of the fun and exciting challenges we'll be sharing in this forum, this is the place for those who like a little motivation and accountability while writing!

Coffee Break (General Discussion) Kick back, enjoy your favorite wake-up or late-night drink of choice, and have fun visiting with fellow writers. This forum is for general discussion that's not about writing. Here, talk about anything else you want to discuss! (Please avoid overt adult content - we have a special forum for that. Just ask.)

Take a Break from Writing & Have FunWe know writing is your life, and you never do anything if it's not for the love of the written word. However, should you ever take a walk outside the universes in your head, this is a fun place to share your favorite breaks for writing (or breaks from reality!)

Promote Yourself & Promote Your WritingPost links to places where your work is published, where your work is sold, or where you can find more information about your writing or books. You can also post links to your blog, if your blog or your blog post is about writing (otherwise, put it in the blogging section of the board). Feel free to pitch your sale here!

Author Marketing & Promotion DiscussionWhether with a big publisher, a small publisher, or self publishing, knowing how to market yourself as an author--before and after publication--is important, but is also often overlooked by aspiring writers. In this forum, rookies can learn from veterans all about the tips and trips for marketing and promoting yourself as an author/writer.

Book Marketing & Promotion DiscussionSo your book is published. It doesn't matter how it was published--trade, self, POD--all that matters is that now you have a book and you need to market and promote it. Learn from the veterans successes and mistakes, get ideas and build enthusiasm for what is often the most difficult part of writing a book: marketing it!

Online Writing Promotion DiscussionLearning to promote yourself and your writing online, while learning that thin line between marketing and spamming, can be fun when you're learning it with your fellow writers. Here, content writers can share their online tips for promoting pay-per-click and pay-per-view articles and content.

Books & eBooks for SaleSo you have a book with your writing in it? A novel? An anthology? A collection? CONGRATULATIONS! Share a link to where we can buy it here! Authors support authors, and in this forum, we can do it in a very tangible way!

Author BiosTalking about oneself in the third person and meeting a word count limit for each publication that is different isn't the easiest thing to do. Here, if you're talented enough to get published (and lucky too!), you can come here and hash out your author bio and get feedback and advice while doing so. Be creative, and show us who you are!

Agents & Publicists: The Good, The Bad, The UglyThere are fewer bad literary agents and agencies than there are good ones, but a bad one can sure stink up a writer's career. If you've had a good or bad experience with an agent or a publicist, let's hear about. Did your agent get you an awesome book deal or did he or she try to take you for a ride, and asked you to bring your checkbook with you? Maybe an agent gave you an excellent rejection (they do happen!), and you want to share it here. Be factual and honest, but most of all, be professional.

Online Content Sites: Highs, Lows & Just So-SoThe online content writing sites are relatively new on the publishing scene. Did you get burned when one folded? Did they change the terms of service and steal all your money and/or content? Have you found one that is better than all the rest, with awesome editors? If you've had a good or bad experience with an online content sites or writing job boards, let's hear about it here. Give your writer friends a heads up, good or bad! Remember, be factual and honest--glowing praise without specifics appears spammy, and calling names and insults isn't professional. Tell us what happened and why your experience is either positive or negative.

Publishers & Printers: POD, Self, Vanity, Trade--Oh, my!Who hasn't heard the PA horror stories? Is your publisher just the best, goes over and above ordinary to extraordinary? If you've had a good or bad experience with a publisher or printer, help protect your fellow writers or help lead them in the right direction. Give your writer friends a heads up, good or bad! Please keep it factual and honest--if it was bad, tell us why it was bad, and avoid name calling or anything that might tarnish your polished professional author image.

Contests, Awards, Prizes: Questions, Concerns, ScamsDid you find out the hard way that Poetry.com says everyone is a winner? Did you send in a large fee for a contest, only to find out you had to pay for your prize? We have a separate section for good contests here, so if you hear of a dud or have been taken by a bad writing contest, give us a heads up so no one else gets burned, and the bums don't get anymore money! Remember, be factual and honest, and above all, profession.